brainsplotch

I don't have much time to write, as I have friends over right now. I hope everyone out there in cyberspace has a wonderful new year. 2009 wasn't necessarily a great year, but I'm thankful that I have my health (knock on wood) and am one of the few people in Michigan who is still gainfully employed. I'm still feverishly working on a few posts that should appear in the next week or so. They're dated "December," so scroll down to check them out when they appear. Here's hoping for a great 2010!

For the second consecutive year, I'm handing out the much coveted Brainsplotch Big Ten football awards. I know that the recipients will be thrilled with the announcement. Since most of these awards are in offensive categories, it may look like I'm being a homer and favoring Michigan State. That's really not the case (at least that's not the intention). Since MSU had the top offense in the conference (and a mediocre defense), it's only natural that many of the players mentioned are Spartans. Without further adieu, the winners are: MVP: John Clay, running back, Wisconsin. Clay is the most rugged back in the conference, and he's only a sophomore. Trying to tackle this guy has to be about as easy as tackling a Mack truck. It's scary how good he could be next year. He practically carried the Wisconsin offense on his back, averaging 116 yards rushing per game and scoring 16 touchdowns in helping the Badgers to a 9-3 regular season record. Best running back: John...

Whatever you want to say about Phil Spector the man, and I think that we can all agree that, at the very least, he’s a creep (if not a murderer), the man produced some of the greatest popular music of the twentieth century, and helped cultivate great artists like Darlene Love and the Ronettes (among many others). Spector’s classic holiday album, A Christmas Gift for You (aka the Phil Spector Christmas Album), has just been re-released on CD, and it is probably THE best Christmas album of all time. The blurb on the back of the CD case declares it as one of the greatest albums in pop music history, and despite the grandiosity of that statement, I have a hard time disputing it. Just hearing the Ronettes belt out “Sleigh Ride” and “I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus,” and Darlene Love’s impassioned “Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)” is well worth the $9.99 I spent on the disc. So go out and warm up your Christmas with this great album.

I want all my loyal reader(s) to know that I am working on my first installments of the "Bargain Bin Finds" and hope to get them posted soon. I've made such a big deal about these that I hope they're not too underwhelming. I also want to write about a new CD called Early Seger Volume 1 that I stumbled across while shopping at my local Meijer store. One of my biggest musical gripes is that, for whatever reason, Seger's pre- Beautiful Loser catalog is out-of-print (with the exception of Smokin' O.P.'s ). Seger seems to be taking tentative steps to remedying that situation. Well, I'm writing this while at work, so I'd better get back to work!